ClearSummit

Contact

Delivering Innovating Solutions

ClearSummit provides front-end mobile application and web platform development, back end development, and UX/UI design for our clients. We specialize in quick turnarounds for prototypes, as well as beginning-to-end development of apps, web servers and entire platforms. We make sure our clients are set up to be able to quickly move from alpha, to beta, to full and scalable public releases for their ideas with the highest quality design and engineering from start to finish.

We also provide consulting and development services for existing products.

Portfolio

Project Foodie

We worked with the client on a first iteration that initially went live to a limited number of users in Nov. 2016.

Project Foodie is a unique app that guides users through real-time cooking instruction. Meals start with a preview that shows an overview of the process from prep to mise en place. The app displays a list of ingredients, list of tools, and step-by-step written instructions. Users can select different serving sizes for each meal, and the ingredient quantities automatically scale. This required some very heavy lifting, due to the need to comply with the customary units of measurement required for cooking, such as teaspoon to tablespoon conversions, and multiples of units such as “pinch” and “sprig.”

We created a comprehensive backend management system that also allowed the app to update quantities inside the written step-by-step instructions, as well as the on-screen events that guide the users through the cooking process. The app also contains a...

Musea

This ClearSummit project came about after we worked on apps for several museums. We saw that there was a huge overlap in features, and decided to create a one-size-fits-most, turnkey app that could get museums up and running on their own custom app quickly.

We started by defining user personas and writing user stories, keeping in mind that a universal application needed to be able to do a lot of things for a lot of people. We made sure to streamline the features so that users who wanted to dig deeper into information were able to, but those who wanted a more superficial experience didn’t feel bogged down.

We wanted neutral branding, with an interface that got out of the way of the content - we knew that the museums’ content needed to be front and center in the user’s experience. The designs made room for visual imagery to be selected by the member museums, and allowed them to maintain their own branding within the Musea app.

We used our working knowledge of...

Lightghost

We were thrilled when our client for this project, a successful film director, came to us with his work in progress. He and two friends had been working to create a way to use bright light and an iPhone camera to create “light drawings” similar to the way a DSLR camera is able to capture moving light. They needed to iterate on the underlying light-drawing video technology, and find ways to process the video after it is created.

We created playful, colorful designs that would appeal to a wide range of ages. The app needed to be as enticing to an 8 year old as a 50 year old. We also wanted to find ways to help the users develop more skill and confidence, as well as the ability to gamify the light-drawing experience. We iterated on different ways to show the user brush options, and ultimately the client wanted the brush selector to feel like opening a palette of watercolors. There are 5 different light brushes, and 9 different colors to choose from.

The app can be used...

-isms

-isms was the first project that Shane and Kara created together. They had the idea for it during a road trip to a music festival all the way back in 2011. They worked together to fully scope the project and solve what was then a problem: the desire to compartmentalize sharing of content on social platforms. At the time, Snapchat didn’t exist and Facebook didn’t accommodate targeted shares. iMessages didn’t have group messaging, either. They wanted to be able to share quotes and overheard lines with either everyone or just a few people, depending on the individual situation.

We created the designs and built the iOS app in Objective C. The goal was to keep everything light, open, and simple. By the time we neared launch, iOS 7 had just come out, and we were excited to incorporate some of the features that Apple’s new interface allowed.

We went through different iterations, and incorporated short videos that played in the background of the feed, added photos, and...

TuneRegistry

TuneRegistry is the brainchild of Dae Bogan - a music business consultant, UCLA professor, and serial entrepreneur. He partnered with music attorney Jesse Morris to create a plan to solve the fragmented and confusing problems related to music metadata and rights registrations. When Kara met Dae at SXSW V2V in 2015, it became obvious that ClearSummit would be a great addition to the TuneRegistry team.

The goal was to guide the user through a series of forms that didn’t feel like forms, and coach them into entering all of the data necessary for their registrations in as simple and streamlined a process as possible.

As we built the platform, we saw how many of the problems we were trying to solve industry-wide are caused by inconsistent and inaccurate data being promulgated across the music industry ecosystem. We created mechanisms to standardize the information during input process, and prevent erroneous data from being sent out to the third-party exchange partners....

JetSpace

We were approached by two teachers from Green Dot Public Schools who had an idea for a mobile app for their school.

Green Dot had some basic designs and branding and a project outline for a very robust app. They also had a strict budget so we worked with them to define a feature set and technology stack that would accomplish their main objectives and stay within their budget.

We developed JetSpace using React Native. This allowed us to use the same basic codebase for iOS and Android, and to branch off and write native code for areas of the app that required that accommodation. In this instance, the camera functionality required some adjustments in native languages, but the vast majority of the app used the same code for both platforms.

We designed the app using clean, crisp lines and the client’s icon and color scheme. The goal was to follow the structure of social apps we knew the students would already be familiar with - but add in some additional features...

ClearSummit provided consultation in mobile app strategy and development, created three iOS apps, two with augmented reality features. They are onboarding a new project to assist with small maintenance work.

The Reviewer

11-50 Employees

Richmond, Virginia

Former Project Manager, Digital Service

Verified

the reviewer

Former Project Manager, Digital Service

Computer Software

11-50 Employees

Richmond, Virginia

Phone Interview

Verified

5.0

Quality:

5.0

Schedule:

5.0

Cost:

4.0

Willing to refer:

5.0

the review

"They were part of our product team, rather than just an outsourced, delivery engagement."

Aug 29, 2017

The Review

Feedback summary:

Their consultation services, coding, and project management proved to be top quality. ClearSummit was adaptive to all needs, expertly solved any problems, and gave the same benefits as an in-house development team. While their team's dynamic could have been clearer, they remained a reliable partner.

the review

We are a strategy, design and development agency. It is a small 10-person company and I have been there for about four years. I’ve gone through a gamut of different responsibilities. I started out at as a general quality assurance/account manager and my final role has been more of a product manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ClearSummit?

We needed iOS development. We were trying to do some augmented reality work. We had a museum as a client and we were working on the development of an iOS app. It had imagery and 3D renderings of objects and places based off locations on a satellite map that was printed on the museum’s exhibit floor.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

ClearSummit has worked on a few different projects with us. They effectively built three applications from scratch and did a handful of other things that involved the maintenance or creation of new features.

After we worked on the museum application, they helped with a few other applications that were somewhat similar. One regarded a historic plantation that was converted and owned by a southern state. It gave a tour of the historical elements of what happened with slavery and the trials and tribulations of different people, to share with the public in terms of remembrance.

We also dealt with a health and medicine app. It helped with non-emergency medical transportation for non-emergency medical issues. It was for people needing to go to the hospital or who were being discharged, especially for Medicaid patients. It was essentially an Uber app for non-emergency medical transportation. Shane [President, ClearSummit] and Kara [COO, ClearSummit] and the team helped us with all facets of the mobile development on that one. They guided us through the API needs for the web application, to the app and vice versa, as well as consulted us on distribution strategy and general work.

Now, we have a couple of updates we need help with and we’re chatting with them. We just got some estimates for some very small work in historical value, mainly small maintenance things. We're going to check with the client for approval on budgets first. Once that is approved, we’ll make sure ClearSummit is an approved vendor for them as well.

How did you come to work with ClearSummit?

We were looking for one person to hire. Shane jumped in at a really good time and helped not only with the development of solving problems with code but also general product guidance. Shane and Kara helped with a lot of the different details and facets that you often deal with in the product land. They would go ahead and communicate directly with our developers, our product managers, and our QA people, and really became a big part of the team. A lot of other development companies or contractors I deal with often need to be managed through a single point person and need more hand-holding. ClearSummit is just more adaptive, can jump around, and solve problems. They understand who the stakeholders are in each project and get the work done by coordinating everything.

How much have you invested with them?

I prefer to keep it confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2014 until 2017, but are looking to continue the partnership.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

For code quality, there was general testing to ensure issues weren’t going to come up. They always provided something that was top quality and we never ran into crazy issues. If an issue did come up, we talked about it on the phone and resolved it very quickly. This alleviated stress. We had a team we could rely on as much as with an internal strategic partner, but with an outside benefit of being tied to the project and not a giant cost to us. We got all the benefits.

How did ClearSummit perform from a project management standpoint?

Kara took a lead with project management. They were definitely good at coordinating all the tasks. In terms of overall communication, we eventually requested a weekly check-in with them. They were on top with communication, weekly check-ins, and communication over Slack. They were part of our product team, rather than just an outsourced, delivery engagement.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their response time was always impressive. They can facilitate getting anything done in terms of app development, and they are always pretty quick to reach and access. One of the main things I loved about working with Shane and ClearSummit, is that when we ran into a request or issue we didn’t fully understand, but knew that there was some type of app development required, we could jump on the phone with them and they could help us brainstorm the solution or what the process needed to be.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Overall, they were pretty good. I know they use other developers in-house, so communicating the overall team structure at the start of a project could be a good idea to do. There was one instance where there was a secondary developer working on small or side objects, and we just weren’t aware of them. We talked about this and came to an understanding.

5.0

Overall ScoreTotally good.

5.0Scheduling

ON TIME / DEADLINES

They are really good in terms of scheduling and are always very good at communicating throughout the project to hit deadlines and goals.

4.0Cost

Value / within estimates

It’s definitely good.

5.0Quality

Service & deliverables

Their work is top notch

5.0NPS

Willing to refer

Definitely. They’re a strategic partner that will help you solve a problem and get to the right solution.

ClearSummit created a native social networking app for iOS, building complete backend and login sections as well as picture-adding functions and 2 simultaneous feeds. They now provide support.

The Reviewer

1-10 Employees

Los Angeles, California

Co-Founder, WeeAct

Verified

the reviewer

Co-Founder, WeeAct

Entertainment

1-10 Employees

Los Angeles, California

Phone Interview

Verified

5.0

Quality:

5.0

Schedule:

5.0

Cost:

5.0

Willing to refer:

5.0

the review

"They have an impressive level of direct engagement."

Jul 26, 2017

The Review

Feedback summary:

After launching on the App Store, the product has already attracted positive user feedback due to its reliable performance and engaging functionality. ClearSummit’s fresh perspective, close proximity, and sophisticated estimates continue to drive results.

We needed our app to be built. If a user is facing a decision like where they should take their girlfriend for dinner, they can post 2 pictures of restaurants for everyone to vote on. After they get feedback from everybody, the user can take a picture or video and send it to everyone who voted.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed a fully functional iOS app for us. If anything wasn’t functional, they took care of it. They did a project-based rate, which we appreciated because mistakes can add a lot of billable time. We wanted to make a native app, so we used Swift3. The code base is clean. They worked directly with our CTO, and the process went smoothly.

Shane [Co-Founder and Lead Engineer, ClearSummit] always gave us options—Mixpanel, Django, or something else. We went with Django and Mixpanel. We have a backend, a login, an add-picture function, and 2 feeds that run simultaneously. One is the voting feed, and the other is a feed with results from the decisions that were made. We have a part where users agree to the terms of service through TestFlight.

The app has been uploaded to the App Store. We also use a product called Buddybuild for testing. We used Xcode on GitHub for version control, which was extremely helpful. Everything worked seamlessly.

How did you come to work with ClearSummit?

I’ve built apps before using overseas developers and had some issues with that process. I wanted to hire someone local that I could talk to. Making a decision took a while. We conducted an online search to find the right fit, specifically people who had an actual office. I reviewed all the proposals and talked to different firms in person. The proposals were hard to judge because I was new to this area. I ended up picking somebody with a project scope that was too ambitious. They got it done, but the work took a year longer than they said it would.

Then, we had a meeting with Shane. He’s close to our age, which we liked. He had a relationship with social networks similar to ours and could see our vision better than some other people we’d talked to. He also had a knowledge base that was larger than most of the other developers we talked to. Kara [Co-Founder and Project Manager, ClearSummit] was also helpful from both a legal and a technological standpoint.

We met with them twice, and Shane took on another project while we were still looking. We were upset about that at first, but then it took us longer to get things together on our end. When we had everything ready, we hired ClearSummit as soon as they finished the other project. Working with Shane was a great experience because we knew he was our guy after long conversations with him. He did a good job with the proposal process and seemed genuine, especially compared to some other people who spoke with us.

With overseas companies, I often encounter a disconnect culturally. For example, I had built a children’s app for autism with a provider overseas. Once, I asked for a supermarket, and they sent me a supermarket from their home town, which is in Europe in a low socioeconomic area. Communication issues often pop up too. That provider had someone in California, but he suddenly disappeared, and I wound up working with people overseas, which meant I had to wait a week or more to get a response to my messages.

What is the status of this engagement?

I’m not sure when we started working with them. The collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We’ve gotten really positive feedback from users. ClearSummit is quick to make fixes. We’ve had meetings with them directly. They’re understanding and give us sophisticated estimates. We trust them.

How did ClearSummit perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Slack and email to communicate. Shane also used Buddybuild for design, which is fantastic. We were able to explain what we wanted, and if he had deeper questions, he could call us directly or we could meet with him.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have an impressive level of direct engagement. I think it’s a generation thing because we’re a younger company. It was nice to partner with someone young who wasn’t a know-it-all. This industry is constantly changing, so I don’t want someone to tell me how it is. I want someone to talk to me in the right way.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they did a great job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers who may work with them in the future?

Try to meet with them in person.

5.0

Overall Score

5.0Scheduling

ON TIME / DEADLINES

They’re always on time. If something’s going to be delayed, they let us know immediately.

5.0Cost

Value / within estimates

They nailed the cost, and sometimes they even included items that we didn’t request.

Working from a preexisting MVP, ClearSummit built a parenting app for the iOS platform. The project mainly involved front- and back-end development in Ruby and Python.

The Reviewer

1-10 Employees

Dallas, Texas

Chris Winn

Founder & President, Village Labs

Verified

the reviewer

Founder & President, Village Labs

Chris Winn

Information Technology

1-10 Employees

Dallas, Texas

Phone Interview

Verified

5.0

Quality:

5.0

Schedule:

5.0

Cost:

5.0

Willing to refer:

5.0

the review

"I had total confidence in the technology built by ClearSummit."

May 11, 2016

The Review

Feedback summary:

The app built a large user base and won a Webby award. ClearSummit's flexible skill set, strong technical competency, and personable communication style enabled them to deliver an exceptional product despite project limitations. The team has a personal investment in the quality of their work.

the review

The company name is Village Labs. The product that we built is called Village for Parents. It's basically a knowledge-sharing app for new moms and dads.

What is your position?

I'm the founder and president.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with ClearSummit?

When we approached ClearSummit, we already had an MVP [minimum viable product] published in the App Store, but that was an anemic version, like many MVPs are. It didn't have very many features and was bare bones. We needed somebody who could handle both front-end and back-end development and was willing to work with us to bring our vision to life. In interviewing a bunch of people, Shane gave us the most confidence that ClearSummit was the best fit for the project.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

The designs were all done in-house, although Shane [Zilinskas, CEO of ClearSummit] certainly provided feedback in terms of technical feasibility for the designs. However, Shane was mainly in charge of all the front-end and back-end codes. One thing that really impressed me was, the back-end of our MVP had been built with Ruby on Rails, and ClearSummit had done most of their projects in Python. However, they were able to learn that language completely, and use it to build our app without any problems.

How did you come to work with ClearSummit?

I put an ad out on weworkremotely.com and, of the 80 or so responses I got, ClearSummit was just head and shoulders above everybody else based on their portfolio of work. The clear understanding that he had of what we had already built, making some early suggestions that were right on point. From a technical standpoint, it was very obvious he's competent there. Also, he was just extremely pleasant, and an easy guy to work with. When he tells you he's going to get something done, he gets it done.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

It was in the $50,000 to $100,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with ClearSummit from May 2014 to April 2016. In that time, we typically worked in three-week sprint cycles.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I recently shut the app down because we weren't able to scale it as quickly as we needed to. However, that is not at all related to Shane. I had total confidence in the technology built by ClearSummit. We actually were a Webby award honoree this past year.

What distinguishes ClearSummit from other providers?

I think Shane is what sets them apart. He's an incredibly versatile person. That's the one thing that I would say, he's capable of handling many different tasks at a very high level. He's also dedicated when it comes to meeting deadlines and exceeding expectations. He takes that seriously and takes a lot of pride in his work. It really shows.

Is there anything ClearSummit could have improved or done differently?

I can't think of anything. Essentially, all of the problems we faced in this company were outside of Shane's control.

Using Ruby and PubNub, among others, ClearSummit took over app development for a dating website. The project involved fixing faulty code and building chat platforms.

The Reviewer

1-10 Employees

Los Angeles, California

Aliza Faragher and Helen Grossman

Cofounders, Align

Verified

the reviewer

Cofounders, Align

Aliza Faragher and Helen Grossman

Online Dating

1-10 Employees

Los Angeles, California

Phone Interview

Verified

5.0

Quality:

5.0

Schedule:

5.0

Cost:

5.0

Willing to refer:

5.0

the review

"[W]hat stands out is their creativity and their willingness to be patient."

May 09, 2016

The Review

Feedback summary:

Session length and number of return users have both increased. The rare technical issue was dealt with quickly and thoroughly. ClearSummit's imaginative problem-solving, startup mentality, and ability to teach complex development concepts quickly made them a trusted partner.

the review

We are the cofounders and handle the creative and business operations of the app. We have contracted with ClearSummit for our tech services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with ClearSummit?

We took a windy road to find ClearSummit. Initially, we were working with an Indian company to build the app. Unfortunately, it was not a positive experience. They ended up damaging our app, and we hired ClearSummit to fix what they had messed up. We ended up retaining ClearSummit because they did such a great job.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

When the app was broken by these Indian developers, Shane [Zilinskas, president,] and Kara [McGehee, COO,] at ClearSummit patched up the pieces and fixed much of the code. They were using Ruby, and our app originally had certain platforms built into it, like PubNub as a chat platform for example. For the most part, they rebuilt everything that the other company had built and largely kept what had been in our MVP [minimum viable product] before we contracted with the other company.

How did you come to work with ClearSummit?

The MVP had originally been built by another local development team here in Los Angeles, who was also who referred us to ClearSummit.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

Initially, it was around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2015, and we're still working with them today [as of July 2016].

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We've seen dramatic jumps in return users and session lengths on the app. There are many fewer crashes. In terms of a more subjective assessment, whenever issues did come up, they addressed them so quickly, efficiently, and effectively that we went from having a technical headache every single day to having trust and confidence in a team that could put out fires when they needed to be put out. The session lengths improved. The entire experience went from being a buggy inconsistent app to being a very consistent platform.

What distinguishes ClearSummit from other providers?

As cofounders to a small and growing company, we can't sing ClearSummit's praises enough, but I think what stands out is their creativity and their willingness to be patient teachers to us. At this point, we've worked or met or interviewed so many different development teams both in and out of Los Angeles, and they are the most humble yet the most talented by far. They've been the most compassionate and, at the same time, they're not condescending in any capacity even though we're younger and we're new startup founders.

Is there anything ClearSummit could have improved or done differently?

No – they're perfect. They're amazing.

5.0

Overall ScoreA++. We love them.

5.0Scheduling

ON TIME / DEADLINES

We had a very tight schedule, and they worked tirelessly to hit their deadlines.

5.0Cost

Value / within estimates

They came in on budget. We had been in other situations with other developers where they weren’t as communicative with where our money was going or when we were running low on budgeted hours. Then, sometimes, we’d go over in many cases.

5.0Quality

Service & deliverables

If we could go to 500, we would. They’re extremely talented developers and they’re extremely talented communicators. All of the issues that we had seen through working with different development teams do not exist with them.

5.0NPS

Willing to refer

I don’t think it’s possible for any team to be better than ClearSummit.

ClearSummit built several apps for a development company. Projects included back-end development, design, testing, and digital marketing.

The Reviewer

1-10 Employees

New York, New York

Founder, Consumer Apps Startup

Verified

the reviewer

Founder, Consumer Apps Startup

Mobile App Development

1-10 Employees

New York, New York

Phone Interview

Verified

5.0

Quality:

4.5

Schedule:

4.5

Cost:

4.5

Willing to refer:

5.0

the review

"[T]heir advice on the design and marketing of the app...was crucial to the success."

Jan 06, 2016

The Review

Feedback summary:

The apps perform well. ClearSummit distinguished themselves with their flexibile management approach and straightforward, honest communication style. By prioritizing efficiency, the team was able to adapt to shifting timelines and requirements.

We were looking for a US-based app developer that could produce my vision, but also add technical expertise and domain expertise; I needed someone to tell me the things that I should be doing that I don't know I should be doing.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

They did all the development from design and delivery through publishing, pushing out the test flight versions and the final release into the app store. It was really a whole service. I was hands-off completely in terms of the technical side of things. One of the things that was really helpful was that ClearSummit has a lot of experience with mobile apps, and their advice on the design and marketing of the app, in addition to its development was crucial to the success of the project.

Can you briefly describe the app?

There are two. They're still early stage right now. One is a consumer app, and the other one is for businesses.

How did you come to work with ClearSummit?

They were a referral through a friend. I posted on Facebook I was looking for a rock star iOS developer and someone pointed me in Shane's [Zilinskas, CEO of ClearSummit] direction. We really hit it off from the beginning. He's a great guy and we have similar ideas about how business should be done, and that helps things move really smoothly.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

Between the two apps, I’ve probably spent in the neighborhood of $10,000 to $50,000.

What was the timeline on this project?

They’re agile projects so it’s been a really flexible timeline. I’ve been slammed with a lot of other work so I haven’t been able to devote as much time to the app as I would have liked, and that’s slowed us down.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What sets ClearSummit apart from other vendors you’ve worked with?

As with all IT projects, things end up taking a little longer and costing a little bit more than you would expect, but Shane is really transparent and honest along the way, and he's been really flexible with me when I’ve pushed things back or put a hold on the projects. He's been great to work with. I've referred him to a bunch of friends and I've heard nothing but good things.

Is there anything ClearSummit could have improved or done differently?

I think they’re a young company, and they’re still figuring out how to give the most accurate cost guidelines. Being more transparent with how things are pacing along the way would be helpful. With that being said, they’re really open and honest, and obviously part of the disparity is due to me and my changing timelines and requirements. So I don't think any of this is unique to them either. They’re figuring out how to get more streamlined in delivery and process and more efficient in being able to deliver things on time, but he's always communicative along the way.

What advice would you give to someone about developing a consumer app for the first time?

Work with Shane, would be the first one. Then, I'd say actually building the app is only 25% of the project. The tip of the iceberg is building the thing.

ClearSummit built a mobile app for a consumer data and analytics platform. The app displays customer profiles, aggregates data, and generates reports.

The Reviewer

11-50 Employees

Richmond, Virginia

Carrington Williams

Co-founder, Lumiary

Verified

the reviewer

Co-founder, Lumiary

Carrington Williams

Internet

11-50 Employees

Richmond, Virginia

Phone Interview

Verified

5.0

Quality:

5.0

Schedule:

5.0

Cost:

5.0

Willing to refer:

5.0

the review

"ClearSummit is very professional...[and] more than pleasant to interact with."

Nov 12, 2015

The Review

Feedback summary:

The app's adaptable, user-friendly structure has met the company's specific needs and allowed them to make modifications quickly. ClearSummit's technical expertise and smooth, speedy workflow made the entire process enjoyable. The team always delivered within schedule and budget.

the review

I'm cofounder of Lumiary.com. We are a consumer data platform and CRM [customer relationship management] for business-to-consumer companies, so we aggregate data from siloed sources like e-commerce systems and email marketing services, and pull that data into unified customer records and provide access to those customer records and various reporting capabilities at a higher level than other systems.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with ClearSummit?

Quite simply, we wanted to build a mobile app that exposed the customer profiles and aggregated data in the customer profiles that I mentioned a moment ago. We built some reporting functionality at a higher level as well into the app. We designed a simple app and wanted to build an MVP [minimum viable product] that we could eventually launch.

SOLUTION

How did you come to work with ClearSummit?

Well, it so happens that ClearSummit's founder, Shane [Zilinskas], used to work at a mobile development company here in Richmond, Virginia, where we're headquartered. His former employer was and remains known for very high-quality work in the mobile space. We talked to them on numerous occasions about helping us out and became acquainted with Shane through that process, but never actually hired that firm. When I heard he had broken off on his own and started ClearSummit, I immediately reached out to him and struck up a relationship, and the project flowed from that process.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

Our project was in the tens of thousands of dollars – on the low end of that, I would say. It was tightly scoped, and we stayed right on budget. We changed some things and added a tiny bit of change request cost, but it certainly was in keeping with what we thought was very reasonable pricing throughout the project and, particularly given the results that we've gotten, we were happy.

What is the status of this engagement?

Well, honestly, it's been a little bit of a disaster, but that's my fault, not ClearSummit's. We sort of pivoted the whole business right in the middle of the project. If we had stayed the course with how we had originally scoped the project, it would have been probably 10 or 12 weeks, in and out. Shane and his team were extremely responsive and extremely fast – we had to have prototype apps on our phones internally within probably four weeks of initiating the project. It was quick. Unfortunately, it's now been almost a year, and we haven't actually launched an app, but that's because we changed requirements and put the project on hold for a while and are only now starting to come back to it. It's been a long process, but the fault certainly hasn't been with Shane or ClearSummit in any way. The delay is a result of us being indecisive. In fact, I'm sure, from Shane's perspective, we asked him to get the ball to the 25-yard line, and then marched it back to the 15, and then he marched it back to the 35, and we've done that process probably six times.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

It is a little tricky because we actually haven't had the thing and handed it to customers, but I can say that it was built in such a way that it's given us plenty of flexibility to explore many things on behalf of our clients. In fact, just this morning [December 2015], we met a guy from an agency who was representing some potential clients and had a brainstorm about some ideas for providing customer information in real time to salespeople on the floor at brick-and-mortar retailers. The effort for us to modify the app to get exactly what he was talking about would be very minimal, which I think is a testament to building in the smart architecture and going through the right process when you start out. Given all those challenges that we presented him, just with lack of continuity and changing requirements and changing priorities and all those things, I would say we've come out with a product that we feel is flexible and will allow us to deploy all sorts of functionality as we wish in a very nimble way.

What distinguishes ClearSummit from other providers?

I would reiterate much of what I said thus far, but maybe some new things, too. First of all, on time and on budget means a lot. ClearSummit is very professional throughout, in all cases more than pleasant to interact with interpersonally as well as professionally. It's just a Johnny-on-the-spot resource. Shane got everything done when we asked him to do it; in many cases, better than we had asked for and he brought great ideas to the table to help us move things along. We were supposed to present designs for everything and have ClearSummit build to those specs. In many cases, we thought of new features for which we didn't have designs, and rather than say, "Oh, well, you guys go get the designs, and I'll wait around until you present them to me, and then I'll build them," he was like, "You know what? I'll just rough something in, and we'll see how it goes." Sure enough, most every time he did that, it was good enough to keep. We just feel like we got a good result all throughout the project, not only in executing it, but also in the products we've gotten out of it.

Is there anything Clear Summit could have improved or done differently?

Not really. I wouldn't change a thing about the project. I would have wished we had been more concrete and knew what we were trying to deliver from the get-go, but that's on us, not Shane. Overall, I wouldn't change a thing. Our relationship with ClearSummit has been one of the best relationships we've had as a company in the two years we've been around, if not the most pleasant.

ClearSummit built a development operations system using Amazon Web Services, a design tool using Angular and Python, and a systems library using Django REST.

The Reviewer

11-50 Employees

Los Angeles, California

Chris Del Guercio

CTO, UltraPress

Verified

the reviewer

CTO, UltraPress

Chris Del Guercio

Custom Apparel Products

11-50 Employees

Los Angeles, California

Phone Interview

Verified

5.0

Quality:

5.0

Schedule:

4.0

Cost:

5.0

Willing to refer:

5.0

the review

"I was very happy and still am."

Nov 12, 2015

The Review

Feedback summary:

All the new tools and systems perform flawlessly. ClearSummit impressed with their friendly relationship-building and responsive communication style. Their accessibility and expertise have increased the in-house technical team's skill and confidence.

the review

UltraPress is the Expedia of custom-apparel. If you want custom shirts, sweatshirts, or sweatpants done for your company, club, church group, and so on. you can go to our site and design your garment. Then, instead of getting one price back, we actually blast your order to our network of clothing screeners and you'll get six to 10 quotes based on your order. Normally, if you wanted all those quotes, you'd have to go to all those sites and submit your custom design each time, but with UltraPress, it's a one-stop shop.

What is your position?

I'm CTO at UltraPress.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with ClearSummit?

We needed help with the development operations side and increasing the sophistication of our server system that was running our site. ClearSummit helped us with that and brought plenty of great expertise. I'm proud of our system now. It's very robust. The second thing is they helped us build a more advanced version of our custom design tool so our customers have an easier design submitting the designs they want to print. It's a very sophisticated tool that was built entirely by ClearSummit.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

On the dev op side, they were able to use various features from Amazon Web Services to help efficiency of our site. On the coding side, they used Angular on the front end, and Django, which is written in Python on the back-end to build the T-shirt design tool. In addition, they helped us use a library called Django REST framework, which has made things easier for us.

How did you come to work with ClearSummit?

I actually found Shane [Zilinskas, President at ClearSummit] through an online developers' community, where he said he was available for contract work. I must have talked to 20 to 40 people and was most impressed with his combination of technical and business knowledge. I was looking to hire initially, but then it made sense to have a contract guy that you can turn off and on as needed.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

They've done several different-sized project with us. Most have been around $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work with Shane and his team is on and off as needed. I'd say it began around a year ago [December 2014]. Some projects take only a few days while others last a few months.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What distinguishes ClearSummit from other providers?

On top of the quality of their work, I'd say it's their responsiveness and just general demeanor that make them such a pleasure to work with.

After working with ClearSummit, my confidence in our tech staff has increased tremendously. We're more confident than ever that we can support our growing user base as time moves on because of the foundation that ClearSummit has built for us.

Is there anything ClearSummit could have improved or done differently?

I can't think of anything. I was very happy and still am. This has been the longest single relationship I've ever had with a contractor.

ClearSummit provided outsourced design and development for a custom mobile app, assisting with initial discovery tasks all the way through wireframing, construction, and product maintenance.

The Reviewer

1-10 Employees

Los Angeles, California

Brandyn Morelli

Former Product Manager, Agency

Verified

the reviewer

Former Product Manager, Agency

Brandyn Morelli

IT Services

1-10 Employees

Los Angeles, California

Online Review

Verified

5.0

Quality:

5.0

Schedule:

5.0

Cost:

5.0

Willing to refer:

5.0

the review

"They exceeded our expectations as a partner."

Aug 28, 2017

The Review

Feedback summary:

Through ClearSummit’s reliable involvement, the solution met all technical requirements and launched on time and within the original budget. The team's strategic feedback, consistent availability, and reasonable pricing added value.

the review

I was a product manager for a design and development agency based in Los Angeles.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what reason(s) did your company hire ClearSummit?

We partnered with ClearSummit for a large technology client who needed a custom IoT [Internet of Things] mobile application that needed to be implemented within an aggressive timeline. We engaged ClearSummit to complement our design and development team, allowing us to meet our time constraints for the pilot launch.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

ClearSummit’s knowledge of architecture, development, and scalability was a deciding factor in our choice to hire them.

Describe the project in detail.

ClearSummit assisted with early ideation and discovery all the way to wireframing, design, and development. They also provided external project management for our client, who needed a product owner to coordinate their resources.

The overall project lasted approximately 6–7 months, and ClearSummit continues to provide support for our client.

What was the team composition?

I worked closely with Shane [Founder & Lead Engineer, ClearSummit] for this engagement.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

They exceeded our expectations as a partner. Shipping the product on time and within budget would have been nearly impossible without their help.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Working with ClearSummit was an exceptional experience. I'd recommend them without hesitation to anyone who needs help with project execution, intelligent strategy, and true product ownership throughout the entire engagement.